Uniformly controllable gas or vapor discharge valve



Feb 25 1936. E LUBCKE 2,032,137

UNIFORMLY CONTROLLABLE GAS OR VAPOR DISCHARGE VALVE Filed Oct. 26, 1933v T R WITNESSES: O

Patented Feb. 25, I936 UNETED STATES PATENT ()FFICE UNIFORMLYCONTROLLABLE GAS OR VAPOR DISCHARGE VALVE Application October 26, 1933,Serial No. 695,245 In Germany October 2'7, 1932 2 Claims.

My invention relates to a uniformly controllable gas or vapor dischargevalve.

It is known in the art to design gas or vapor discharge valves in themanner that a hot cathode, which is, for instance, indirectly heated, issurrounded by a pot-like control grid arranged concentrically withrespect to the hot cathode, the control grid in turn being likewiseconcentrically surrounded by a pot-like anode.

In discharge valves of the above character two control grids areprovided according to the invention between the hot cathode forming theelectron emitting source and the anode of the discharge path to beinfluenced, the control grids being disposed in series in the samedischarge path.

With such an arrangement it is possible to attain a considerablystronger influence of the electron and ion-current than in the case ofthe valves hitherto known. The controllability of the valves for thenon-uniform control is improved and at the same time it is possible toemploy a valve of the same design for uniform control. The uniformcontrol is very favorably influenced as to a saving in heat of the totaldischarge path by the mutual enclosure of the electrodes. Further, bythe arrangement of the electrodes according to the invention it ispossible by properly spacing the electrodes to control at will thedischarge valves uniformly or non-uniformly by electrically isolating orconnecting the grids disposed between the hot cathode and the anode aswell as to pass from one method of control to another method of controlby simply changing over the grids. There are amplifying valves which areprovided with a liquid mercury cathode, and in which a grid is inserteddirectly in the discharge path emitting from the cathode. A valveoperated according to the invention differs from such amplifying valvesin that it is provided with an indirectly heated cathode, further inthat the electrode is designed and arranged in the manner that thecathode is almost completely surrounded by the grids and the latter bythe anode of the amplifier. The discharge valve according to the presentinvention corresponds to the known gas or vapor discharge valves withconcentric arrangement of the electrodes and particularly also tonon-uniformly controlled valves only as to the manner how the electrodesare designed and arranged, but it differs in that the knownnon-uniformly controlled valves with hot cathodes only have a singlegrid between the hot cathode and the anode.

In the accompanying drawing an embodiment of my invention is shown indiagrammatic form.

The invisible hot cathode is completely surrounded by a cylindricalradiation sheath I having a plurality of perforations. The emittingsurfaces of the hot cathode are so arranged that the emission occurschiefly perpendicularly to the axis of the valve. A grid-shapedelectrode is arranged concentrically with respect to the hot cathode andis closed by an end plate 3. The electrode 2 is surrounded by the grid 4which is designed in the same manner, but may consist of a small-meshedgrid. The control grid 4 is likewise closed by an end plate 5. The anode6 forms the outer enclosure for the other electrodes and is not providedwith any particular end plate as the grids surrounded by the enclosure.Both end plates 3 and 5 of the grid electrodes serve to prevent anundesirable heat radiation from the discharge path and to protect thefusing points of the electrode supports and energy supply leads. Thesingle electrodes are held firmly in position and insulated from oneanother in a well-known manner (not shown). The single electrodesupports which may serve at the same time as energy supply leads arebrought out singly from the glass tube 7. It is preferable to design theheating element for the indirect heating of the cathode in the mannerthat it may be also connected directly to a D. C. supply circuit of atleast a voltage of 110 V. Furthermore, it is convenient to electricallyinsulate the electron emitting part of the cathode from the heatingcircuit.

In the case of a non-uniform control an ion as well as anelectron-discharge is attained between the hot cathode within theradiating sheath I and the anode 6. To this end, for instance, the gridelectrodes 2 and 4 are electrically connected with each other. The grid4 may, however, be also electrically connected with the anode 6 andemployed therewith as anodes of the discharge path. If desired, aresistance may be inserted between the grid 5 acting in this case aspreanode and the anode 6 proper. The methods hitherto proposed for thecontrol of gas filled types of tubes may also be applied to thedischarge valves according to the invention.

In valves which are designed for non-uniform control it is preferable tomake the distance of both grids 2 and 4 approximately equal to the meanfree path length of the ions in accordance with the vapor pressureprevailing in the valves. Further, it is also preferable to dimensionthe distance of the grid 4 from the anode in the same manner. Thedistances between the grid and the anode may vary from the mean freepath length to the double amount thereof.

The valve above-described has besides the increased controllability inthe case of the nonuniform control the advantage that may be controlleduniformly. In the case of the uniform control the discharge valve isconnected election may be employed to advantage for naviga- V tion. Thedischarge valves may replace the rotary converters which could behitherto only employed for supplying signalling elements, gyro-.compasses, Water sound systems and the like with energy.

' I claim as my invention:

1. A discharge device comprising an indirectly heated cathode, a. gridmember surrounding said indirectly heated cathode member, a second grid2 v Q g '7 go's-2,13%

member surrounding said first grid member and an anode surrounding saidsecond grid member, a gaseous medium, said device having a containerwall sealing said medium about said electrodes, the openings in saidsecond grid member being smaller than the openings insaid first gridmember, said first grid member being spaced from said second grid membera distance of the order, of the free-mean path of an ion of said gaseousmedium. n

2. A discharge device comprising an indirectly heated cathode, a gridmember surrounding said.

indirectly heated cathode member, a second grid member surrounding saidfirst grid member and an anode surrounding said second grid member, agaseous medium, said device having 'a container wall sealing saidmedium. about said electrodes, the openings in said second grid memberbeing smaller than the openings in said first grid member, said firstgridmember ,beingrspaced from said second grid member a distance of theorder of the freer-mean path of an ion of said gaseous medium and saidsecond grid member spaced from said anode a distance of the order of thefree-mean path of an ion of said gaseous medium.

ERNST LtFBCKEQ V

